Following severe criticism from councillors, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has let go of its public relations firm. The councillors had alleged that the firm — The Practice Strategic Communication India Pvt Ltd — was a needless drain on their resources, as MCG already had a public relations officer (PRO).

A letter was sent to the firm by MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav, who said he had taken the decision after reviewing MCG’s presence on social media in the past few months.

“I found MCG’s social media presence over the past three months to be negligible,” Yadav said. “MCG was paying the firm a hefty amount and the returns did not justify the expense. Hence, its contract has not been extended.”

“From now on, a few employees will help the PRO take care of MCG’s social media presence,” he added.

Prior to a house meeting on March 7, RS Rathee, independent councillor of Ward 30, had questioned MCG on its continued engagement with the PR firm.

“When a full fledged PRO is appointed, what is the necessity of keeping a PR agency by paying an additional ₹5 lakh per month? [sic],” the question read.

MCG had then revealed that the firm had been appointed to create digital engagement and that it had been selected through a tender process in January 2017 for three years at a charge of Rs 4.2 lakh per month.